Your parents love you. You can learn about how to follow Heavenly Father’s commandments and how to be happy from them. President Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency, wrote about this recently.

Bring up your children in light and truth (Doctrine and Covenants 93:40).

Happiness does not consist of [great] luxury, [or] the world’s idea of a “good time.” Nor must we search for it in faraway places with strange-sounding names.
Happiness is found at home.
All of us remember the home of our childhood. Interestingly, our thoughts do not dwell on whether the house was large or small. . . . Rather, we delight
in the experiences we shared as a family. . . .

Seemingly little lessons of love are observed by
children as they silently absorb the examples of
their parents. My own father, a printer, worked long
and hard to support our family. And yet, following
church on Sunday, he often visited elderly family
members and brought cheer into their lives.
One was his uncle, who was crippled by
arthritis so severe that he could not walk or care
for himself. On a Sunday afternoon Dad would say
to me, “Come along, Tommy; let’s take Uncle Elias
for a short drive.” Climbing into the old 1928
Oldsmobile, we would proceed to Eighth West,
where, at the home of Uncle Elias, I would wait in
the car while Dad went inside. Soon he would
emerge from the house, carrying in his arms like a
china doll his crippled uncle. I then would open
the door and watch how tenderly and with such affection
my father would place Uncle Elias in the
front seat so he would have a fine view while I occupied
the rear seat. The drive was brief and the
conversation limited, but oh, what a legacy of service
and of love!

My young friends, let us determine . . . to make
of our houses happy homes. Let us open wide the
windows of our hearts, that each family member
may feel welcome and “at home.” Let us open also
the doors of our very souls, that the dear Christ
may enter.

One of the most important questions ever asked to mortal men was asked by the Son of God himself, the Savior of the world. To a group of disciples in the New World, a group anxious to be taught by him and even more anxious because he would soon be leaving them, he asked, “What manner of men ought ye to be?” Then in the same breath he gave this answer:

“Even as I am” (3 Nephi 27:27). . . . Let us follow the Son of God in all ways and in all walks of life. Let us make him our exemplar and our guide. We should at every opportunity ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do?” and then be more courageous to act upon the answer. We must follow Christ, in the best sense of that word. We must be about his work as he was about his Father’s. We should try to be like him, even as the Primary children sing, “Try, try, try” (“Jesus Once Was a Little Child,” Children’s Songbook, page 55).

To the extent that our mortal powers permit, we should make every effort to become like Christ—the one perfect and sinless example this world has ever seen. . . .

We must know Christ better than we know him; we must remember him more often than we remember him; we must serve him more valiantly than we serve him. Then we will drink water springing up unto eternal life and will eat the bread of life. What manner of men and women ought we to be? Even as he is. (Ensign, May 1994, page 64.)

Instructions

Draw or glue a picture of yourself in the empty square, and write your name under it.

Fold along the dotted lines (see illustration). Read the scripture under each prophet’s picture.

Punch holes where indicated, and thread a piece of string through the holes as shown in the illustration. Tie a knot on the bottom end of the string, and make a loop at the top.

Hang up your mobile to remind you of what the Savior tells the prophets to tell you.

By Diane S. Nichols

“For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith” (D&C 21:5).

The Prophet Speaks for Heavenly Father

Imagine that your mom asks you to tell your brothers and sisters to come to dinner. You are to speak for your mom, delivering a message for her to your family. Will they listen?

Father in Heaven has chosen certain men to speak for Him. These men are called prophets. They teach us what He wants us to know. Will we listen?

The scriptures tell us about prophets Father in Heaven called to speak for Him. Noah warned the people to repent or a terrible flood would cover the earth. Noah’s family listened, and they were saved from the flood (see Gen. 6–8; 2 Pet. 2:5).

Lehi was shown that Jesus Christ would be the Savior of the world. Lehi’s son Nephi prayed to know if his father’s words were true. The Lord visited Nephi, and Nephi believed all his father’s words. Later, Nephi, like his father, spoke for the Lord (see 1 Ne. 1:18–19; 1 Ne. 2:16–18).

Joseph Smith went into the woods to pray. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared and gave him instructions that opened the way for the Restoration of the gospel (see JS—H 1:11–20).

We have a living prophet today, Gordon B. Hinckley. He is the President of the Church. He was chosen by God and called through proper priesthood authority. President Hinckley testifies that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. All the prophets testify of Jesus Christ and teach us what He wants us to do (see Jacob 7:11;). D&C 21:1, 4–5

When we pray to Heavenly Father we can know that the prophet’s words are true. When we hear the prophet, we will know that he speaks to us for the Savior. And, yes, we will listen.